Postal Service delays plans to stop Saturday mail delivery

For now, the USPS will not go ahead with plans to cancel Saturday mail delivery.

BY ANTHONY O’REILLY

The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced it has backed down on its plan to eliminate Saturday delivery after Congress barred the idea.

The USPS Board of Governors made the decision on Tuesday in a closed door meeting.

“Although disappointed with this congressional action, the board will follow the law and has directed the Postal Service to delay implementation of its new delivery schedule until legislation is passed that provides the Postal Service with the authority to implement a financially appropriate and responsible delivery schedule,” a statement from the board said.

The board called the ending of Saturday delivery “responsible changes” in trying to avoid the USPS from becoming a burden to taxpayers.

“It is not possible for the Postal Service to meet significant cost reduction goals without changing its delivery schedule — any rational analysis of our current financial condition and business options leads to this conclusion,” the statement said.

In February the USPS announced it would end Saturday delivery starting the week of August 5 in an attempt to save an estimated $2 billion annually.

Shortly after the announcement, a group of local politicians wrote to Congress, saying the post office was violating “the clearly-stated intent of Congress for the last three decades to continue six-day delivery.”

“Companies that rely on six-day mail delivery may opt to explore private delivery services. This could very well mean significant mail volume decreases for USPS and further financial hardship,” the letter said. “The Postal Service should look to expand rather than limit the scope of its business.”